Chapter 7 – In the Heat of the Moment

June 17, 2019 8:53AM

It had been a whole week ever since Shousuke had turned into Emilia, as she had woken up in a stretch. Adam and Puck had continued to provide emotional support for her unequivocal conflicting consciousnesses, and she was true grateful for it. Yet it had still had left her unsatisfied and rather anxious that she had only been practicing with [Spiritual Telepathy] as a prerequisite for Puck’s contract term had needed to be filled per day along with with a [Minor Healing] spell and mana manipulation. He had stated that if they were to continue breaking the terms of the contract. That the contract would have been nulled by the [Familiar’s Writ] passive attribute that she possessed, and thus would be rendered useless. There was also a news article pertaining to her little stunt that she had pulled in the Wunderlich County Park that had compelled her to lie low for a little while. Apparently, the authorities had claimed that a prankster had thrown a nitrogen fused makeshift bomb over an unsuspecting resident’s home along Skyline Boulevard destroying their yard, but she knew better. It wasn’t until Adam had had brought up the article the next day that they began to become wary and vigilant. But Puck had assured them that nothing was going to happen due to a certain predetermined set of rules. It was fortunate that the article had been buried on that website that day, mostly due to the Hong Kong Protests that were happening across the other side of the world. ‘Puck had been informed that once mana of any form comes in contact with someone who has no aptitude with magic, it would automatically disperse. So that probably meant that the police where left scratching their heads, wondering how to solve the case. At least no one got hurt due to my carelessness, so that’s good...’

Stuffing away her thoughts, Shousuke had picked up her phone from the nightstand and gazed upon it unperturbed as she scrolled through a couple of her sibling’s text messages. One in particular, was her younger sister Maki holding ceramic ceremonial paraphernalia for a festival near Shousuke’s home town. She had recently had been enrolled in a Secondary School near Nagoya, and was second to oldest sibling in her family. So she had many responsibilities stacked upon her including taking care of her younger brother and baby sister, while her step mom was out working in the evening as an Event Manager for various of her clients. Their dad had worked in the morning as a police officer, and was a loving man to his children. ‘Some things never change… I wonder how Dad would react if one day he woke up and found out that he had another daughter?’ Shousuke had contemplated, feeling homesick from her expedition across the world. Shoving that tab to the side, she had checked up on her Discord feed she hasn’t checked up in a while to absolve herself from her current reality. She had missed the time she had spent with these guys while she had still lived in Japan as they were all her Secondary friends, even graduating and partying together.

- Has anyone heard from Shou? Normally he would have been on by at least 06:00 everyday (Japan Time). yet he hasn’t been on in a while -

- He probably found himself a girlfriend IRL, that damn ikeman -

- Ikeman? He’s average at best… - Shousuke’s eyebrow twitched in response. ‘This guy...’

- Even if he did, he never put down WoW without something to draw him back. He’s always been that way. Girlfriend or not -

- IDK, perhaps being on those California beaches probably have a majestic charm of some sorts and he’s stuck in a trance -

- What if his girlfriend had a hissy fit at him spending all day on his Garigarikun covered laptop he took with him and threw it out of the window after sifting through his Misaka Ackerman rule 63 folder? - ‘Hey, I only had that thing on my laptop during my Junior years shoved into the most obscure folder on my hard-drive. You only know know about it because I had it tabbed open when lent you my laptop, and you went ahead and told everyone in our circle. I can even remember the firm nods of approval you guys gave me!’ Shousuke mentally facepalmed herself at portions of her cringy past, a slight blush crawled inconspicuously on her face. 

She had continued to scroll past a couple of other messages, ranging from the Hong Kong Protests to the Upcoming Call of Duty Modern Warfare game. Over on the Anime channel, they had discussed about the upcoming Fire Force, Vinland Saga, and Doctor Stone anime that were going to be released very soon. Adam in particular had been very interested himself in seeing how historically accurate Vinland Saga would be in comparison to a TV show called ’Vikings’ as the name implies. Shousuke’s relationship did seem to grow a little distant from Adam for the past couple of days due to the awkward tension between the pair as a result of hormonal tendencies, but they still played video games together on his Xbox One. He was currently out of town at the moment, speaking to a certain immigration lawyer that his friend had recommended to order to deal with her current circumstances.

Puck on the other hand was starting to grow much more fond of both Shousuke and Emilia as a result of this world’s influences and cultures. Of course, there are still the aspects of war, discrimination, and poverty that the inhabitants of this land continued to struggle with. Nevertheless, Puck was happy that this world was drastically different from the unfortunate world his daughter had been born in. In particular, the ideologies that the ‘founders’ of what is called the United States had engraved into stone on their Charter, or Constitution nearly 243 years ago. This land had granted people Freedom to express themselves, freedom to choose your own path of life and equal opportunities for education without being shunned or shut down by the nobility, but most importantly, there was much less discrimination in this nation in comparison to Lugnica and the Land of the Dragon Gods. Emilia had an opportunity to restart her life here and become some who deserves happiness without having to employ it by force after the Royal Selection had concluded. There was still some discrimination lingering about but most of those ideologies were shunned by the majority of society. However, now that Emilia’s dream had succeeded, even if it’s through the concept of transmigrating to another world and sharing consciousness with a denizen with a mellow yet slightly prideful personality. Emilia now had no apparent aim, no struggles to push against, not at least until she overcame her new dilemma of going through this “residency” process that this country had demanded of her in order to stay in this country and not be exiled out of it. However, Emilia was currently stateless and residing illegally within United States which brought concern to Puck. The former man, Shousuke did have a country she could return to and a “visa” that permits her temporary entry into the US. But now, she couldn’t prove her identity and even if they tried to exile her back to Japan. Japan would adamantly deny her entry as well. Shousuke/Emilia for the first time had no where to go and settle in this new world.

- Sorry guys, I was out for a while during to certain circumstances that came up IRL. Apparently I’ve had to take some prep-classes in order to get ready for the curriculum. But now I have the free-time to whatever I want, what do you say we settle down for some WoW later tonight? - Shousuke had lied with a guilty conscious. In reality, she has been meditating with her magic and the spirits around per Puck’s contract with both of her consciousness. So far, she’s been managing to keep her ice magic mitigated due to arduous magical essence training she had currently undergo, being able to freely materialize it in the palm of her hands. Wisping the magical mana around in intricate dances as it lit up her surroundings. She was starting to grow attached to her powers, something that would probably come back to bite her later down in the future.

- Oh it’s Shou! I guess whatever goes around comes back right around every once in a while. Alright, I’ll text the other guys to let them know. But if you’re going to go off on your own, at least let us know without us trying to go full Sherlock Holmes mode trying to find you. -

- Alright, going to go speak to someone today that works outside the city. So I might be a little late, but I’ll make sure to get in on time. -

- k – The last direct message ending the conversation as most of her buddies were probably currently asleep due to it being 1 am in Japan. Satisfied with her circumstances, she had put the phone down, and pushed herself off her bed. She was currently in her old pajamas since she felt she couldn’t let go of their comfort once she had overhauled her wardrobe. They were one of the few garment memos she had left of her former man self. The listings she had posted on various websites weren’t doing her any favors either as she hasn’t sold a single thing from her previous wardrobe, but at least it was worth the effort to try. Contemplating what to do with her day as she sat up straight staring at the wall in front of her, she finally settled on showering first thing’s first. Coincidentally, Puck had started to manifest himself once Shousuke had settled her mind on the matter. His usual flashy entrance remaining the same.

“Good morning Shousuke/Lia, you guys had a good dream last night?” Puck had curiously inquired, caressing the tips of her bed-hair. They had finally had gotten female essentials throughout the week ranging from hairdryers, to brushes, irons, hairbands, shampoos, the list goes on and on. It was only due to Puck’s persistence due to gathering information about the way of life from the spirits around him. Emilia’s influence might have been a factor in her essentials selection as well as Shousuke had sifted through the majority of the female soap scents that a local supermarket had provided. The two consciousnesses, along with Puck had settled on a lavender scented soap brands that had a hint of aloe. Shousuke had been carrying Puck around in a black leather satchel during their shopping in order to conceal his existence. Originally, Shousuke had protested the concept, but after being burdened by the discomfort of sitting on her wallet, not to mention having to stuff Puck between her breasts because of a previous outfit that both Puck and Shousuke had mutually agreed on to wear. They had eventually settled on buying the satchel from a thrift shop that they found it at. Puck had enjoyed the roomy and cushy interior of it, thus being able to freely shop during Puck’s manifestation period.

“Hmmm, I don’t really remember much of my dream last night. I was in all sorts of places I couldn’t really make out in detail.” Shousuke had stated, tilting her head to the side while putting her thumb and index finger on her chin. “What about you Puck?”

“I remember us watching the rest of Re:Zero from the previous days before, and seeing Subaru kissing you during a certain made up scenario I made in my head. If I ever see Subaru again, I’ll be sure to marry you guys off.” Shousuke and Puck once coming home, had spent the next day catching up on the rest of Season 1 of the show. Puck was both blown away by how much Subaru had suffered throughout the rest of the season, and enraged by how the entire world was out to get them. Shousuke on the other hand, had a hard time rewatching the series despite the fact that she knew about the events that were going to unfold. Shousuke had begun to grow attached to Subaru, longing to see him again despite only knowing the guy in the series. Yet a part of her wanted to get together with him, wanting to live a happy life with him for everything’s he’s ever done for her alter ego and her maids Rem and Ram. ‘Is this love? Have I mutually fallen in love with Subaru because of this body or of my own free will? I don’t even know anymore...’ Shousuke had contemplated, remembering how she broke and cried over the events that had unfolded in episode 15 to the point where she nearly couldn’t bare to watch the rest of the series. Shousuke had finally come to understand what it’s like to hold someone you love preciously as they were a part of your family and a part of you.

The feelings the original Shousuke had for Emilia’s character had been overshadowed by Emilia’s true love for Subaru. And yet a part of her hated herself for it as well, for not being able to see how fundamentally flawed Subaru was as a person. For not being able to provide the emotional support he had so desperately needed during his struggles against life and death. But most of all, she had hated herself for seeing how Subaru had chosen her over Rem’s onscreen character development. Yet at the same time, she had felt a little relieved as well. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place where if she were to accept Subaru’s feelings for her, she would feel disgusted at herself. On the other hand, if she were to reject his confession, it would only leave an open ground for a husk of a man who has suffered through so much turmoil. She couldn’t bare doing either of the two things as both options seemed appalling to her. ‘Was it better for this body and Emilia’s consciousness to leave that world and start from scratch here? Was that the intent of whatever Gods are watching over us?’

Shousuke had been snapped back into reality as Puck flicked her right on her forehead. He had apparently been calling out to her yet she didn’t respond. “Huh? Oh, sorry I was spacing out again.” Shousuke had justified, trying to shove her thoughts about the previous days away.

“Geez, you’ve been doing that ever since you guys had merged. I can’t tell who’s trait that would be, because the original Lia had done the same back in our world.” Puck had stated, reminiscing about the time they had stayed over at the Roswaal Mansion. “But still, I never knew that that maid named Rem had technically worked at our mansion and cared for us. Not to mention that she the complete opposite of our maid Ram yet demon twins all the same. I only remember the events that had lead up to the carriage ride towards the Sanctuary after we defeated Petelgeuse. Yet, why do I get a feeling of Deja Vu?” Puck had mused over the existence of Rem. ‘Wait, does that explain the migraines I had when I saw Rem on screen during episode 4? Was Emilia’s consciousness also trying to remember Rem as well? Then that means they were transported right before the Sanctuary Arc? Then that means that Rem-” Shousuke had composed herself to try to respond to Puck’s question. (AN: Anime only watchers, please watch the Episode 25 of the Director’s Cut)

“I see… Well Puck, you probably already know what the Whale of Gluttony is? When Rem along with Subaru had accompanied a part of Crunsch faction to fight the Whale of Gluttony, a certain event had transpired when Rem had decided to stay behind and help out to transport the defeated whale to the Capital. Rem is fine, just in a certain condition.” Shousuke had explained, not wanting to add anymore spoilers of what is to come of Season 2 next year.

“Hmmm, the Whale of Gluttony huh? Well, I guess that certainly explains why I don’t remember her existence. Well I’m glad I do now. I like that little maid, maybe we should make her Subaru’s second wife.” Puck had jested, a feeling of jealously had overcome Shousuke but she decided to quickly to confine that emotion off as she headed off towards the shower room. Shousuke had grown to adapt to this body fairly center of gravity, and anatomy fairly well. The feelings of sensitivity still evident around her nether region but over all, it had felt natural to control her body. ‘The brain is sure an amazing organ...’ Shousuke had pondered on how quickly it took her to get used to her new body, as she stood under the never-ending stream of hot water.

“Hey Puck, can you give me your take on this?” Shousuke had asked, as she let some of the water cascade down her body while she was washing her new soap off. “Theoretically, lets say if Subaru and I were transported to this world and found out we were fictional characters all along. Do you think that our relationship would remain the same?”

“I think he would adapt to his situation fairly well, but after accepting his reality. Despite the suffering he destined to undergo, and whether or not he would forgive this Tappei Nagatsuki for his creation. I think that his relationship with you would still remain the same. You’re just a girl who was destined to be happy, and he’s just a boy who wants to help you fulfill that dream and make you happy. It’s all the matter on whether or not you personally want to realize that dream in the end.” Puck had confirmed, adding his two cents into the mix.

“I see, I do perhaps love Subaru, or at least I think the Emilia portion of me does… But after re-watching his struggles to make the people around me, myself included happy. I don’t think that would be fair to him to try to confess that love to someone like me. I don’t think I’m worthy of such an amazing guy.” Shousuke had added, perhaps with a little of Emilia’s influence as well as she hung her face in shame.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, it’s not your fault all of this had happened to him. You keep on being yourself in the end, and I will make sure that things fall into place to achieve that front.” Puck had assured, wanting to mitigate her guilty consciousness. Shousuke had looked up at the familiar who had a Cheshire cat type of grin displayed on his face. She let out a sigh.

“Dumb little cat… But it makes me happy all the same.” Shousuke had uttered, Puck slightly taken aback by the beckoning as Shousuke had rubbed Puck’s fur with her wet hands. “Lia! Don’t do that!” The familiar had belly laughed as the two bonded within the shower room. Eventually, they had gotten out of the shower room and Shousuke had strolled over to her room with her towel on. Her phone was lighting up with a couple of messages from Adam.

- Yo, I have some good news and bad news -

- The bad news is that the lawyer had rejected our case stating that there was nothing he could do unless if you sought refuge in another country like Canada. Citing the immigration law that Bill Clinton had passed in 1996. AKA Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act along with a couple of other state and federal laws. - Shousuke was not happy with this revelation that the lawyer Adam had hired turned out to be useless when it came to her situation. She has read up on articles pertaining to stateless individuals. One in particular was about a guy who had sought asylum after Yugoslavia had collapsed, the man had been detained by ICE and held for years before ultimately Social Media and a bunch of humanitarian groups spoke out against the government’s treatment of the man. Ultimately he was granted Asylum and has ever since been permitted to live in the US. However, something was telling Shousuke that she didn’t have that luxury of time. She had a gut feeling that was going to happen in the future. She had put away those wary thoughts as she read the next message.

- The good news is that he knows a guy, a real shady son of a bitch, that knows how to circumvent the system with his ties to different government branches. He said we can meet him here at XXX in Redwood City just North West of Stanford. - Shousuke didn’t like this option either because it seemed that this person seem to be involved in the black market, but for now it was her best bet. In turn, she decided to respond to Adam’s messages.

- I guess our best bet would be to at least talk to that guy, because I feel like we’re currently running out of time. After all, we have Puck to get us out of a nasty situation, I hope - Sending the message, she had rubbed her temples in frustration. Shousuke had subsequentially gotten up to her wardrobe and let Puck decided what Emilia would wear for the day. It had consisted of the white summer dress with ruffles and a cape top, and white flats to accompany it. ‘What is it with Puck and trying to transform me into a Barbie Doll with all these dresses and skirts? Well, I guess I’ll go with this then since yesterday I wore some jeans to walk around the park in order to meditate with the surrounding spirits. It’s not like I look bad in this either.’

“Alright, perfect. Compliments your silver hair and your purity very well. You can’t look at yourself in the mirror anymore though. Not unless if you want to restart the contract and even I don’t know the consequences of contravening the contract terms in this world. Last time you did that, it nearly sucked out all the mana out of my system and I had a lot of it.” Puck had added, inconveniencing Shousuke since she really wanted to see how Emilia looked in those outfits without having to look down at herself and imagine it. “Of course, I can say for certainly that you look good, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Hearing you say that I’m pure kind of contradicts my already perverted mind.” Shousuke had uttered. Puck had dismissed her remark as he hummed to himself while he brushed through her hair into slow, gentle motions to get the knots out her shower/bed hair.

“Alright, done. You look great Emilia, like a young princess at the top of a castle.” Shousuke had flushed at that remark. ‘Fuck, hearing a father figure say that is especially embarrassing.’ After adding the finishing touches, Shousuke gathered her phone and made her way to the kitchen to get herself something to eat. She had read in Adam’s message that he was on his way back and would be here in a couple of minutes, so she needed to gather a certain amount of identification. After collecting her essentials, she had then headed towards the living room to where the Xbox One they had hooked up on the flat-screen TV was and she decided to boot up Skyrim Special Edition. Her last save was on the trip to visit the Greybeards up on High Hrothgar just before she fought the Frost Troll with her [Flame] spell in-game. This was her fourth play-though through the game (bless you Todd Howard) and the enemies for her were very easy to deal with, considering she was playing with a battle-mage loadout. Puck was awestruck at the atmosphere the game had provided aesthetically. He had even bragged that he could even take down that troll before it could even blink. ‘Well, he’s not lying, he definitely could easily smash the troll straight through the mountain if he wanted to.’ Shousuke had mused at the sheer power Puck had hid under that little cute guise of his.

A few minutes later, and Adam had eventually arrived to pick them up. His sights had set on the scene on the TV. “You meeting the Greybeards?”

“Yeah, while you were out. I kind of wanted to continue where I left off since it’s been a while since I booted up this game.” Shousuke had concluded, pausing the game to save it. Before subsequently turning the Xbox and the TV off before making her way over to Adam. He had turned a little rosy at the sheer beauty of his roommate was portraying in the white summer dress outfit, unbeknownst to Shousuke.

“Alright, you have all your shit together? We’re going to need that Visa you have, your passport, and your proof of citizenship from Japan apparently. The guy is about a 40 minute drive from here.” Adam had listed off, as Shousuke had nodded with her satchel bag in her hand. Satisified, they had exited out the backdoor and jumped back into Adam’s truck. On there way there, they were singing along to a Sabaton album, Puck eventually joining in. Emilia’s voice wasn’t tone-deaf despite what the WN had characterized about her with her sweet voice. So there must have been some other factor to her lack of singing ability in the other world. It could have been simply just her jubilant personality that might have prevented her from be able to sing for all that Shousuke cares, or her mana essence.

They had finally arrived at their designated location near a gloomy alley. The place had been littered in trash and broken beer bottles, but despite that, it still had a certain charm to it. There were cracks all over some of the exterior of the buildings and a graffiti of Marilyn Monroe on one of the walls had accompanied it. Flickering neon signs and other light sources only made the trio wary of their surroundings. Despite that, no one seemed to be in this alley according to Puck’s [Spiritual Sense] ability. They had made their way over to the door of a rundown building. Slowly opening it, they were immediately greeted by a gaudy and plump individual with an assortment of chains running down their arm.

“I’ve been expecting you from Mr. Bronson, while don’t you two have a seat over by that desk there. I’ll be will you in just a moment.” The eccentric man dressed in with a red aesthetic stated. On the individual’s desk was a brain contained in a glass of Formalin solution. Books and other assortments of souvenir had lined the bookshelf to the right side of the desk. Suddenly, a feeling of dread overcame Emilia and Puck.

“Emilia!” Puck scrambled into a defensive position. Emilia had nodded in recognition as the ominous spiritual presence behind them and had flared up her mana channels throughout her body. Adam had stood dumbfounded by Shousuke’s sudden combat stance. Emilia’s gaze was fixed on what could be described as an Armored Spirit with a radiant amount of flaming mana emitting from it.

“Oh my, you can see my [Hell Knight]?” The pompous individual had jubilantly added, with a grin forming across his face. “Your affinity to the [Spiritual Arts] must be very high, mage. Why don’t we settle down and have a nice, long chat over on that desk over there. I might be able to solve your current predicament.” The man stated, a buoyant yet leering grin formed on his face.